Empath
by Idle Stripe
Summary: Stuck behind a desk all day, Tora has taken to reading body language as a form of entertainment. What does this mean for Draco Malfoy? This was churned out in the space of two days, so it's not my best. No pairings beside canon ones.


_**-Empath-**_

_**-A 'Harry Potter' fanfiction-**_

=^w^=

**Author's Note: Hugo and Lily haven't been born yet, so that makes this small story set somewhere before the epilogue. Yes, I have kept to canon...somewhat. Yes, I prefer to keep to canon before setting off on my own tangent. No, that does not mean that I like to warp the storyline so much that I'm shamefully creating a Mary-Sue and her universe. I HATE those things. **

=^w^=

She could see emotions other people couldn't.

Tora's gold eyes were amazingly perceptive, despite their interesting colour and shine. She could see the love that Ginny and Harry shared between each other and their sons James and Albus, as well as the love between Ron, Hermione and their daughter Rose. Every touch of a hand, every glance at a face, every smile for a job well done sent sparks flying between the groups that could make a unicorn vomit. It was the non-verbal gestures that really proved how far into love each person had fallen, and it never ceased to amaze Tora how much they all continued to fall.

Babysitting for the kids further pushed her theory. James, Albus and Rose never failed to regale tales of their mothers and fathers 'smooching in the kitchen' or 'kissing in the hall', adding faces of disgust and high-pitched voices to their anecdotes that made all of them giggle, Tora included. Simple gestures, refined and adapted over centuries, were by far the best method of conveying emotion to someone who you felt emotion for. If the stories were anything to go by, each couple still had a lot of emotion to convey, something that a simple kiss wasn't going to express.

The one person who gave off so many emotions all at once, someone who provided a challenge for the former Ravenclaw, was Draco Malfoy. Watching him walk across the Atrium at the Ministry of Magic was like watching the advertisement break on television. There was so much for Tora to pick up and analyse. One minute he may be displaying guilt and remorse, the next minute he may display something akin to worry or even indifference; it just depended on the day. Even when the former Slytherin visited her in her office on the fifth floor of the Ministry, there was always a mixture of emotions both on his face and in his body that Tora found fun and challenging to decipher.

"Tora, are you alright?"

Snapping back to reality, the former Ravenclaw shook her head and focused her attention on the sheets in front of her, delivered by the Golden Boy himself. Harry adjusted his new glasses – thinner frames, because Ginny had insisted – and raised a brow at the Animagus's behaviour, something that was puzzling him to no end. She had been zoned out ever since he'd walked into her office with the Auror reports from both himself and Ron.

"I'm fine, Harry," Tora replied airily, "I was just thinking about emotions." The stack of reports found themselves scattered all over the clean floor.

"Emotions?" the head Auror asked.

"You heard me the first time. I was thinking about how easy they are to display despite attempts to conceal them."

"Don't you have anything else to do with your day?"

"Not really. Just because this is the Department of International Magical Relations it doesn't mean that I have a lot of work to do. Right now I'm organising the Italian and German teams to play an exhibition match for the upcoming Quidditch World Cup."

"You got Ron those tickets, didn't you?"

"Yes, Harry. By the way, have you seen Draco around recently?" Harry paused in the collection of his reports and looked at the witch. Why would she ask him something like that? He knew that he and Malfoy had been on better terms since the war, and Scorpius was a delight of a child to be near, but what did that have to do with anything?

"He told me to pass on the message that he was bringing you lunch later," he said slowly, "but other than that he seemed busy."

"Hm, interesting." Tora folded her hands together and rested her chin upon them, a small smile on her face. Harry sighed.

"What have you been thinking about?"

"Just how easy he is to read. The emotion coming off Draco is like a waterfall: it never seems to stop and there's always something ready to fall off it."

"...you really are bored in here, aren't you?"

"Oh, hell yes." The door to the office opened and the former Slytherin himself stepped through, carrying a small paper bag in one hand and his wand in the other.

"Potter," Draco said politely, "I hope you delivered my message."

"Of course he did, Draco; please relax. How's Scorpius today?" As the blond launched into a story of the cold his son had come down with, Harry watched his movements. Tora's small confession of her empathy-reading had gotten him thinking about Malfoy in a way that he'd never really applied to anyone before, not even Ginny. When he spoke about his family, his hand twitched and his eyes flashed with unshed tears. When he laughed it was a bitter one that stopped as soon as it began. When he talked about Scorpius in general, he seemed relaxed and almost loving, fatherly even. Tora reached into her robe and produced a small bottle, filled with a dark green liquid that was translucent and smelled of tea tree.

"Next time he has a bath, put a few drops of that in the water. It's a special blend that Mum makes that relieves all sorts of congestion." she said, pressing the bottle into Draco's hand. Grey eyes took a few moments to study the bottle, before it was slipped into the blond's own robe.

"Before I forget, would you like to come to the manor for dinner tonight? Scorpius keeps complaining he doesn't see enough of you." he said. Harry let his mouth drop a little as the Animagus nodded.

"Of course, Draco," she replied, "I'd love to see Scorpius again, too. Lord knows what sorts of things that boy's been up to." Leaving the paper bag on her desk, the former Slytherin barked out a dry chuckle then turned and departed. Tora sat up straighter and looked over at the Auror.

"See what I mean?" she asked, a small grin on her face. Harry nodded.

"You were right," he replied slowly, "I see that your Ravenclaw brain hasn't rusted since we've been out of school."

"I won't let it. The whole 'empath' thing comes in handy when I'm questioning people for things."

"Now that's thinking like a Slytherin."

"And you've never done that?"

"Touché."

=^w^=

Despite a lot of the eerie vibes having been removed from the place, Malfoy Manor still intimidated Tora every time she visited. The once-sparse rooms had been filled up again with the family's belongings, and every so often a house-elf could be seen popping in and out of the house to collect something for the new master. As the gate opened to let the Animagus in – she really hadn't bothered to Apparate; she did that all too often these days – a small blur knocked her off her feet onto the cold gravel.

"Tora! You're finally here! Father said that you were going to be late!"

"Scorpius, I'm having a small amount of trouble breathing." The next-generation Malfoy scrambled off the Animagus and reached into his pocket, pulling out a white handkerchief and blowing his nose into it. His eyes were dulled with his illness, but they still sparkled with happiness at seeing Tora after a long time.

To him, a month was a long time; hell, even a _day_ was a long time.

"Come on, come on, come on! I'm not supposed to be outside right now!" Scorpius tugged impatiently on Tora's arm and dragged her inside the house, where Draco was waiting for them in the sitting room. He looked up as his son and the Animagus approached, his eyes shining with something that Tora could only call relief.

"Scorpius, go wash up for dinner." he said, standing up. The next-generation Malfoy nodded and, with one final hug around Tora's waist, departed toward the back of the house. Shrugging her robe off, Tora let the heat of the roaring fire wash over her body like hot water. She hung up her robe beside the black velvet one that belonged to the elder Malfoy and entered the house a little further.

"Would you like a drink?" Draco offered.

"No thank you, I'll wait," She took in a breath, "Mm, smells good. What's cooking?"

"When the house-elves heard you were coming they insisted on making you minestrone soup. I nearly received several third-degree burns for trying to get them to make something else." Tora bit her lip to keep from giggling at the mental images of Draco Malfoy scared of house-elves.

"I'm sure you meant well."

"Obviously not well enough."

"Okay, I'm back." To make certain that they knew he'd returned, Scorpius sneezed three times. Loudly.

"Alright then, let's go eat." the Animagus said cheerfully, clapping her hands. Draco stayed beside her the whole time they walked into the large dining room, something that she picked up on. She could practically feel the waves of nervousness and sadness coming off his person, but these lessened as they sat down, him at the head of the table with her and Scorpius taking his sides.

A house-elf wearing a grubby tea-towel appeared at the elder Malfoy's elbow with a _pop_, bowing to the master of the house and his son, then to their guest. He scurried around to their sides and filled their goblets with water noiselessly, then bowed again and disappeared with another _pop_. Tora sipped at her water as the soup was served by another house-elf, this one wearing a pillowcase with slits cut out for arms and legs.

"Blink wishes that Masters and their guest enjoy their meal." he said before disappearing as well.

"What is this?" Scorpius poked at a lump of carrot in the soup with his spoon curiously.

"It's minestrone soup," Tora replied in an explanatory manner, "It's tomato soup with vegetables and a little bit of spice. Try some." Cautiously the next-generation Malfoy lifted some of the soup to his mouth and blew on it before placing the spoon in his mouth. He chewed for a few minutes on the vegetables before swallowing. Within ten minutes the bowl was devoured.

"It must be good if you've eaten it all." Draco chuckled, lifting some of his own food to his mouth. The boy poked his tongue out at his father and drank some of his water.

"I see you have my brother's taste in foods when he was a child." Tora commented, swallowing her mouthful before sipping at her drink again. Blink the house-elf appeared again to refill their water goblets.

"Your brother didn't like this soup either?" Scorpius's eyes were as wide as grey dinner plates. Finishing her bowl, the Animagus pushed it away from her and shook her head.

"It wasn't the soup he didn't like; it was the vegetables that Mum used to put into it. Eventually she worked out that if he helped in its preparation he'd eat it, so that's what would happen."

"Does he eat it now?"

"He can't get enough of it. I think there are a lot of foods that people are afraid to try only because they don't know what goes into them."

"Yeah, like those fritters or whatever Father calls them that we had the other night." Draco looked affronted at the comment, something that Tora noticed. Gently grabbing his hand under the table, she felt the indignance radiate off him like warmth from the fire earlier and smiled at the elder blond. He calmed down the minute he looked at her, her gold eyes telling him it was alright; he was only a boy and children had a habit of speaking their mind.

"I might have a few fritter recipes I think you can try out for me," she said, leaning over the table to smile at Scorpius, "Think you can help me make them one day?" Scorpius lit up like a Christmas display.

"Really?" At the confirming nod, he broke out into a loud cheer, "Alright!" As soon as he finished cheering he coughed into his hand and took a drink. Tora sighed; where did he get his personality from?

"Would you like dessert?" Draco asked when the boy had settled down again.

"Yes please, Father."

"And you, Tora?"

"What is it?"

"Fruit salad, I'm told."

"As long as there's no ice-cream or anything like that, count me in." The relaxed vibes the elder blond gave off could've lulled even a dragon to sleep.

Tora made a mental note to make a real note of the differences in Draco's emotions at home and at work; it was like a little psychology case all on its own, really.

=^w^=

With Scorpius bathed – Tora was right; the potion _did _work wonders on congestion – and in bed, the two adults relaxed in the sitting room in front of the fire, one nursing a glass of brandy and the other holding a glass of red wine. The Animagus stared into the flames licking at the wood in the hearth and jumping into the air and sighed, sipping at her drink and leaning back into her seat.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" Draco asked. Gold eyes snapped over.

"I was just thinking about emotions." she replied, déjà vu washing over her; hadn't she given the same if not a similar response to Harry earlier that day? Grey eyes blinked, confused.

"Emotions?"

"You know, the things that the heart is accused of having."

"I know what they are."

"This is how bored I am in my department; I've taken to reading people's emotions based upon what they are displaying."

"Could you read me right now?" Tora leaned forward in her seat and placed her glass on the small table beside the chair. Her gold eyes raked over Draco's slouched form, the small part of her brain currently having a hormonal party being stamped upon by the diplomatic part of her brain that was used whenever she met with foreign witches, wizards and other magical creatures. Finally she sat back and crossed her legs.

"You're tense, as judged by the tight grip you have on your glass," she began, "But you're also guilty of something, as indicated by your slouching figure. Then there's the sad light in your eyes which means that you're remorseful that something has happened or something hasn't happened." she concluded, blinking as Draco hung his head.

"Can you come over here please?" Raising her pierced eyebrow, Tora complied to the request and promptly found herself smothered by arms and a face pressing into her neck. Instinctively wrapping her arms around the blond, she rubbed his back soothingly as he dry-sobbed into her warm person.

"I have no-one..." he finally managed once Tora had relocated him in his chair, "Scorpius is all I have ever since that cow of a woman left me for some French wizard with more Sickles than sense.

"I just...every time I see you I always feel guilty because I had you and then I lost you. You're like a rainbow; I can only see you, but I can't touch you. I want to apologise to you for breaking your heart, Tora, but I don't know how to do that." Well, that certainly explained all the emotions she'd read over the past year or so. Leaning forward, the former Ravenclaw tipped the former Slytherin's chin up so that grey eyes looked into gold and she smiled a little.

"If I still had a grudge against you, do you think I would be here?" she asked softly.

"But...I'm a former Death Eater. Those two words are enough to send anyone running." Draco responded, leaning back in the chair and turning his head.

"Draco," That simple utterance of his name made him look back at the Animagus, "You underestimate how strong I really am." Looking directly into gold eyes, the elder Malfoy searched them for a glimmer of something that would tell him she was lying, but instead he found nothing but truth. Allowing relief to crawl over him slowly, he leaned forward again and embraced Tora gently as if dreaming.

"Please don't be a dream..." he murmured into her hair. Tora returned the embrace and smiled against his shoulder.

"It's not a dream, Draco. It's just a beginning." she whispered back.

=^w^=

She could see emotions other people couldn't.

Sitting at her desk, Tora sighed and fiddled with the tip of her dove-feather quill while she waited for a note from the Department of Magical Sports and Games about the Quidditch teams available to play in the charity games that she had been organising non-stop for the past month. When the suspense became too much, she let her head slide off her hand and meet her desk with a loud THUNK.

"Anyone would think you were bored in here." The Animagus looked up to see her twin brother walk into the office carrying his eagle owl Washi. The bird had its head tucked under its wing and was slumbering peacefully.

"If I'd have known all I would be doing is waiting for news about other countries, I would've joined the Auror Office," she said, "What have you got for me?"

"The Korean Minister of Magic is visiting next month and Shacklebolt wanted me to remind you of that fact." Ryu replied, "Oh yeah, Malfoy stopped by my office before I came in."

"Oh? What did Draco have to say?"

"He wanted me to remind you that he was picking you up for lunch in half an hour and that I wasn't to be in your office when he appeared."

"Fair enough. Why are you carrying Washi around with you?"

"He fell asleep on my arm and his talons don't want to let go." Tora snorted and hid her smile behind her hand as her Animagus brother huffed and departed, flicking his robe behind him to show his irritation. The former Ravenclaw groaned and relocated her head back onto her desk as the door closed; that wasted the whole of sixty seconds that she could've spent asleep on top of her report about the amendments to the regulations of standard measures in cauldrons.

Finally giving up, Tora returned to watching people pass by her office and reading their emotions based on how they walked. The most common emotion she picked up was stress, followed closely by fatigue or depression. She was amazed at how common those emotions were, but then again it was a stressful place to work; just ask Harry Potter.

"I wonder if anyone else is as stressed out as I am right now..."

"Weasley's asleep on his desk, if that makes you feel better."

"Oh, hello Draco." The blond entered the office, his long velvet robes sweeping the floor as he walked. Tora smiled at him; the relaxation he felt was reflected within his grey eyes.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked as she stood up, "We have reservations at the local wizarding restaurant."

"Hold your Hippogriffs, Draco, a girl needs a little time to get her things." Grabbing her wand and purse from her desk, Tora followed him out of her office and toward the elevators so they could go to the Atrium.

Perhaps she should take up being an empath. It helped one of the more difficult wizards of the century; surely it could help others as well.

=^w^=

_**DISCLAIMER: The disclaimer applies to all characters and all settings in the 'Harry Potter' series – J.K. Rowling – and Tora and Ryu – me. **_


End file.
